The municipality of Laâyoune and the city of Arlington in the state of Texas (United States) signed a twinning agreement on Thursday, October 17 in Laâyoune with the aim of strengthening bilateral cooperation in several areas of common interest.
As part of the decentralized cooperation between Morocco and the United States, this agreement was initialed by the president of the Municipal Council, Moulay Hamdi Ould Errachid and the mayor of the city of Arlington, Jim Ross, at the headquarters of the municipality of Laâyoune, in the presence of the wali of the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region, governor of the province of Laâyoune, Abdeslam Bekrate, the president of the Regional Council, Sidi Hamdi Ould Errachid, and the mayor of the city of Columbus ( Ohio), Andrew Ginther, who is also president of the United States Conference of Mayors, as well as elected officials.
“This agreement aims to consolidate cooperative relations for the well-being of the two communities, through economic, educational and cultural exchanges,” underlined Mr. Ross, following the signing ceremony of this agreement. twinning agreement.
In this wake, he said he was “very impressed” by the quality of infrastructure in Laâyoune, noting that the two cities share common interests within a framework of mutual understanding.
The mayor of the city of Arlington also expressed the wish to further consolidate bilateral relations, saying he was optimistic about the development of this cooperation in the future.
For his part, Mr. Ould Errachid indicated that this twinning agreement comes after the decision of the United States to recognize the sovereignty of Morocco over its Sahara and its territorial integrity, recalling that this is the second agreement, after that signed in May of last year with the city of Hollywood in the state of Florida.
He also expressed his desire to establish mutually beneficial relations in the cultural, economic and political fields.
Under this agreement, the two parties agreed to strengthen cooperation and partnership relations, particularly in the economic, cultural, artistic, educational, tourism and environmental sectors.
This act of twinning also testifies to the mutual desire to maintain a constructive friendship relationship, based on mutual respect, equality and common interests, in accordance with the laws and legislation in force.
On this occasion, an institutional film highlighting the potential and assets of the city of Arlington in the state of Texas was screened.
Likewise, the members of the delegation followed a presentation on the development program of the municipality of Laâyoune covering the various projects included within the framework of the new development model of the southern provinces launched by King Mohammed VI in 2015.
During their stay in Laâyoune, the American elected officials made field visits to several projects, where they saw first-hand the efforts made to ensure comprehensive and integrated development of the region.
Earlier in the day, the American delegation held a meeting with the wali of the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region, governor of the province of Laâyoune, Abdeslam Bekrate, during which emphasis was placed on the developments of the national cause and the boom in development that the region is experiencing in different areas.
It should be remembered that a similar twinning agreement was signed on Wednesday in Dakhla, between the town of this city and Columbus (Ohio) in the United States.
